Prometheus Gold
by Philyra
Summary: All Daniel wants is to escape to the Atlantis shatterdome. Fate (in the form of a certain black-haired smuggler and thief) says otherwise.


Disclaimer: All crazy ideas are mine. Everything else...is not mine.

* * *

"Daniel…Daniel, wait!"

He'd never Drifted with Sam, but he knew her and loved her like a sister. That's how he knew with absolute certainty what she was going to say. "I won't do it."

She caught up to him, matching each long stride of his with two of hers. "Daniel, we have to talk about this. We saw the way the two of you fought. Your body language…I've never seen two people move like that without-"

"Don't say it." His voice dropped, allowing the brisk staccato slap of their boots on the concrete floor to cover their conversation. "I'm leaving for Atlantis soon, you know that-"

"And you know that Jack won't let you leave the Mountain, not if there's a chance that there's finally someone who can help you pilot Prometheus Gold." The general had been fighting to keep the scientist-turned-jaeger-pilot from fleeing to San Francisco's floating shatterdome ever since he lost Sha're.

Daniel jerked to a halt and yanked his glasses off, glaring at her. "Oh, and you think that someone is Vala Mal Doran? Sam, need I remind you that she came here to _steal _parts of Prometheus?"

"No. What matters is that she _stayed_ and made it better than before. Give her some credit, Daniel." Sam reached out and squeezed his shoulder. "And give her a chance. Contrary to what you might think, Prometheus isn't dead - and neither are you." She backed away with a sympathetic smile curling around the corners of her mouth, leaving Daniel alone in the hallway and with his thoughts.

* * *

The cafeteria fell silent for only a heartbeat when he stepped in, but it was more than enough to set him on edge. He should have known that the gossip would be all over the dome before nightfall, complete with outlandish embellishments. With his appetite unquestionably vanished, Daniel changed directions and made for the far table. "Where is she?" he asked without preamble.

"Depends, Jackson," Cameron Mitchell said with a cheeky grin. "You gonna bring her back here and sit with us?" The unsaid _as pilots _hung in the air like a flashing neon sign.

"Don't tease him, Cam," Carolyn scolded. "I'm sorry Daniel, none of us have seen her since-" _The fight_. She shrugged helplessly, a gesture that was incongruous with her small, elegant frame but entirely characteristic of Cam.

Daniel sighed and turned to the other pair. "Ryan?"

The seventeen-year-old shook his head and looked at his father. Murray, better known as T, had become fast friends with Vala and was closer to her barring anyone but Sam. The big man took a slow, contemplative sip of his tea before looking up at Daniel. T did things at his own pace, and at 6'3" and carrying about 200 pounds of solid muscle, no one was inclined to hurry him along (except maybe Jack). "I believe you know where she is, Daniel Jackson. Vala Mal Doran frequents few places here."

He automatically opened his mouth to refute the statement, and then promptly shut it. Whilst Vala always seemed underfoot to _him _("Daniel, Samantha and I were reconfiguring Prometheus' plasma cannons, how do you think it would affect a kaiju…" "Daniel, tell me more about these kaiju parasites, do you think there's some way we can use them?" "Daniel, I'm BORED."), the truth was an altogether different creature.

And he _did _know where she was, damn it.

* * *

Vala's feet kicked back and forth through the air, her chin propped on the safety railing as she gazed contemplatively up at the Mark Two jaeger. "Come to escape the rumors, darling?" she called, not even bothering to turn as Daniel came up behind her. Funny how he'd never noticed or questioned her second sense in regards to his presence, not before today.

"What rumors?" He remained standing, his gaze turned away from the silent jaeger before them. He had barely been able to look at it since Seattle.

She _tsked _her disapproval. "Don't be disingenuous, Daniel. It doesn't suit you. You know very well what I mean, although the rumors do cycle. I rather enjoyed the one about our illicit encounters in-"

"Vala."

"_Daniel_," she mocked, the whiteness her teeth flashing in the darkness of the dome. "Shall we fight again? I did so enjoy it. And don't lie, I know that you did too."

Daniel wasn't going to admit to that, not right now. One thing he could readily admit to, at the very least, was annoyance at how easily she'd danced in circles around some of the trainees in the gym. They were supposed to be some of the best in the PPDC pilot program and shortlisted for Prometheus Gold. Yet there they were, their asses handed to them by a former thief, smuggler, con artist, and god knew what else. It was infuriating and he was happy thinking that it had more to do with the changing of hands regarding his former jaeger than the alternative.

"_What are you doing, Vala?"_

_She pushed her hair out of her eyes, one foot easily balanced atop the groaning trainee at her feet. She wasn't even sweating. "We're just having a friendly spar, Daniel."_

"_They have better things to do than fight with you, don't they?" He sent a pointed look to the other trainee, who was rapidly developing a black eye. "Hailey, why don't you get Elliot to the infirmary?"_

"_Right away, Dr. Jackson." The tiny blonde propped her tall, lanky partner up and the two began hobbling away._

_Vala pouted. "Was that really necessary, Daniel? I'm simply testing their mettle, as it were."_

"_That's not your job," he snapped._

"_Perhaps not," was the easy reply. "But I've heard no complaints from either Jack or Samantha." Her eyes narrowed in speculation. "Perhaps we can change it up." She pointed a finger at him. "Why don't you spar with me, Daniel? Let us test _your _mettle."_

_He snorted. "Don't be ridiculous."_

"_Darling, I'm always ridiculous." She struck then, quick as a flash, her fist stopping only centimeters from his nose. A slim black eyebrow ticked up in appreciation when he didn't even flinch. "One-nothing. First to five?"_

_He didn't know what possessed him at that moment, but it was _Vala. _If there was one thing he knew about her, it was that she made him crazy. Daniel seized her fist and smoothly twisted down and around until her arm was locked behind her back. "One-one," he breathed in her ear._

_Vala's response was to slam the back of her head back and then flip him forward over her shoulder. Daniel's breath came out in a whoosh as he landed but he rolled smoothly and was back on his feet in seconds. When she came into view once more, she was smiling. "Two-one, darling."_

"_Don't call me darling." Daniel launched himself at her, but there was no rush in the next series of moves. He'd seen enough to know that while he had the advantage of size and strength, he was no match for her in speed and cunning._

_Vala was a superb fighter. She moved quickly and efficiently, with all the grace and lethality of someone who had spent her entire life fighting. For her, the best fight was the one that ended quickly, with her opponent either dead or incapacitated so that she could be in the wind. She didn't bother with proper stances or fancy kicks, preferring instead to dart in and hit him in the places that would cause the most damage, using her fists and fingers with deadly precision._

_Once, though, she came in too close and could not get away fast enough. Daniel seized the opportunity then to grab her and throw her over his hip. "Two-two."_

_She laughed as she bounced to her feet, the sound unexpectedly sweet as it echoed off the walls. She brought her fists up, blue eyes sparkling with respect and anticipation. "Let's go, darling."_

_His blood _sang _as they moved together, something lighting up and crackling inside him with each exchange. He was hyperaware of her every movement, of the electric brush of her skin against his, the pure joy of her expression. For her every action, he responded equally. Some part of him simply knew which way she would move and where her blows would land, and she knew him as well._

_Vala's experience marked her the victor in the end, though, with a quick twist of his right arm up and back, locking it in place with her hands as she kicked his feet out from beneath him. "Five-four. Do you yield, Daniel?" Her voice was black velvet, whisper-soft against his skin._

"_I yield," he panted._

_She released him and offered him her hand. "Aren't you a surprise?" she murmured, more to herself than to him. In the aftermath of the fight she'd lost all of her usual artifice, ceasing to be anything else but _Vala _and for the first time it was as though he was truly seeing her._

_Applause brought them both back to the present. Sam and Jack stood foremost, Sam with a clipboard clasped closely to her chest, eyes wide. It was Jack's look of interest and calculation that brought Daniel crashing back, though, and he realized that he still had Vala's hand in his. He dropped it as though burned, and whatever accord they might have had was lost in that abrupt retreat. Vala actually took a step back, her expression akin to betrayal._

_Daniel refused to see it. "Show's over," he told the rapt audience curtly, turning on his heel to get as far away from these strange – but not new – sensations._

_And yet the heat, the scent, and the feel of her lingered with him for hours._

"Admit it. You're not ready to leave all of this behind." Daniel was unsurprised to find her standing now, leaning against the railing at his side, her shoulder just barely brushing his.

The sheer confidence and presumption of her words grated at him. "You know _nothing_ about me." He moved away from her, crossing his arms. Even now, hours from that mind-bending encounter, her mere presence resonated within him.

Her eyes flashed as she finally turned to face him. "I know more than you think."

"And do you think I care what you think you know? You're a thief and a con-woman, Vala. I would have been in Atlantis by now if it weren't for your little shenanigans with Prometheus," he said with a derisive snort.

Her lips drew up in the corners in a parody of a smile. The expression was foreign on her face and he found himself wishing that it were one of her real smiles instead. "Yes, what is the word of a thief worth? My apologies, Daniel, for thinking more of you than you think of yourself." She nodded up at the jaeger and in the shine of her eyes he could see that she _loved _it. "Perhaps you're willing to give up on Prometheus. I am not."

"Why?" The question burst out of him without his permission, but some odd compulsion could not let her walk away, not yet.

"Why what?" Vala dragged her wrist across her forehead and he realized suddenly that she was _tired_. The skin beneath her eyes was smudged and shadowy and the slump of her shoulders spoke of weariness beyond that of a day's work. The sleeves of her engineer's jumpsuit were pushed up and though she'd washed her hands, grease streaks were stark against the paleness of her skin.

_She works on Prometheus night and day. She knows it better than anyone besides Sam – or you_, a voice whispered in his ear.

"Why won't you give up on Prometheus? What is it to you?"

A wry twist of her lips told him exactly what she was thinking: that she owed him no answers. But Vala spoke anyway, her attention drawn irresistibly back to the metal colossus. "A second chance," she said in hushed, reverent tones – more to herself and to Prometheus than to him. "A chance to be a part of something."

It was the most vulnerable he'd ever seen her. The way she swanned around the Mountain, it was as though she was merely deigning to grant everyone with her presence. With her drifter's façade firmly in place, she never seemed to want or need anything but the next passing fancy.

That was how it had seemed. Guilt formed a ball, heavy and cold, in his belly as Daniel began to consider the idea that he'd completely misjudged Vala Mal Doran. "Vala-" he began.

It was too late. Her defenses were up and the irreverent pirate was back. "But what can a thief or con do with a cause?" She tucked her hands behind her head and raised an eyebrow. "There's no bottom line, nothing to trade or sell. Such a shame."

"Vala!" Daniel snapped. It hit him with sudden clarity why he detested her insouciance so much. He cared whether or not she stayed.

"Is that all you can say?" she drawled. "As much as I enjoy the sound of my name on your lips in this manner, I can think of you saying it in a better context." She raised her eyebrow meaningfully.

"Will you just let me talk?"

"Why? So you can cast further aspersions on my character? I'd rather not, thank you."

He held out his hands, palms up in supplication. "No, I'm sorry. I've been unfair." Those words were sincere enough to stop her physical, if not mental, retreat. "But I have my own reasons for wanting nothing more to do with this place…and with Prometheus."

Vala stayed silent, sensing that an interruption now would simply derail this odd new dynamic.

Daniel exhaled and hoped that he wasn't making a colossal mistake. "One Drift. We'll see what happens. Tomorrow. 0900 hours."

He'd give it a shot. If it didn't work, well, Atlantis was still waiting.

* * *

There were stares, of course, when he walked through the Mountain towards the Drivesuit Room. Daniel ignored them all, walking with single-minded though uncertain purpose. He'd avoided that room for nigh unto a year now and each step seemed to bring him closer to a past that was too painful to face and yet he could not escape. He'd changed his mind at least a dozen times since his little chat with Vala the previous day and had even considered not showing up at all.

He tried – _tried _to blame it on Vala but that excuse was empty at best. Oh yes, she was certainly part of the reason why his feet were unconsciously guiding him towards the Drivesuit Room, but she'd no more forced him to be there than either Sam or Jack, though he maintained a certain grudge towards the latter two for being so damned pushy about the whole thing. No, he was coming because of a need to satiate his curiosity and perhaps seek closure. He wanted to prove that he and Vala were not drift compatible and show once and for all that this was no longer the life for him. He wanted to be in Atlantis, helping McKay dissect kaiju specimens and study the mechanics of the Rift.

That's what he told himself, anyway.

Daniel stopped in the doorway, watching as Sam watched over the technicians helping Vala into her drivesuit, the two of them chattering animatedly about suit upgrades. Vala joked easily with the technicians, teasing them lightly about hands being in naughty places. He swore she did it just to make them blush and she certainly was not disappointed in her efforts.

Sam turned to speak to another technician and caught sight of him, smiling brightly. "Good morning, Daniel."

He grunted, pretending not to notice the way that Vala lit up at the sight of him. "Let's just get this over with."

"Well, I can see that we're getting off to a _marvelous _start this morning," Jack observed from just over his shoulder. "Still holding on to Atlantis?" he asked in an undertone.

"It's the more viable option."

"You keep telling yourself that." He ignored Daniel's withering glance and ambled over to Vala's side. Eventually, Daniel walked in and let the technicians help him into the black drivesuit. "The drivesuit suits you, Vala. Now, no chasing the R.A.B.I.T., Prometheus is nice and shiny and new, all right?"

Something in Vala dimmed slightly at those words, but her voice was as steady as ever. "My past does not bear revisiting, Marshall. I'm perfectly happy leaving it where it is."

"You say that now, but we'll see." Jack addressed Sam this time, affection creeping into his eyes and voice even as he crossed his arms. "Is he ready?

"He's ready," Sam confirmed.

"Right. Into the conn-pod, you two."

"Right or left?" Vala asked Daniel, the first words they'd exchanged that morning.

He hesitated. He'd always been on the right side, but he wondered if that space would hold too many memories for him. "Left. Vala…"

"_Two pilots engaged in neural bridge."_

Her tone was all business as they were lifted and secured into place. She looked like an old pro, as though she'd done this a thousand times before. "Daniel, we are about to be in each other's heads. I think it's safe to say that there is nothing to be said, not right now."

That's what he was afraid of.

Vala heaved a sigh. "Try something new, darling. It's called trust."

"_Initiating neural handshake."_

And then it was the Drift, a shifting landscape of blue-toned memories. Daniel let them wash over him, suppressing nothing and watching Vala's memories with more interest than he would admit to. What he found was nothing like he had expected to find.

-Wellington. What is that monster, RUN VALA, Mom's gone, Mom's gone-

-Looks like it's you and me, kiddo. But the room is empty the next morning. Dad? Dad? -

-She develops a knack for finding and moving things. First it's contraband, then people. Reunited families, that always hurts-

-Dad again, trinkets and empty words-

-Jaeger parts. Kaiju parts. Hong Kong, Seoul, Panama, Manila-

-Drinking Hannibal Chau under the table, few can boast that-

-Prometheus. Prometheus might be decommissioned. Curiosity. Must see, must see, must see-

-Beauty. Perfection. There's life in this one yet, feel the metal and how it pulses, the light inside, the light-

-_Daniel_-

His memories intertwined with hers, full of sorrows and laughter of their own.

-Your grandfather's not coming-

-Desert. Dark, laughing eyes, spices in his nose and sand in his mouth-

-Skaara, Skaara, my brother! He's gone, it took him, Daniel, my Daniel, we must help-

-I never thought you two would come so far in the program. Solemn Jack, strangely serious. But you two have the strongest neural connection so Prometheus is yours-

-Mind to mind, heart to heart, Prometheus is a part of them too-

-Seattle. Pain, so much pain, conn-pod is open and Sha're is screaming, blackness, sinking down down down-

-Silence. She's gone gone gone. Neural load too much, took the kaiju down but she was too-

And then suddenly it was Vala's grief mixing with his own.

"We're quite a pair, Daniel." Her voice cleared away all of the cobwebs and all of the shadows so that it was just the two of them, mind-to-mind and everything open. Their memories continued to swirl around them, but they were but whispers now and flashes. Here and now he could marvel at the sheer strength of her, his regard echoing clearly through their connection.

He felt her surprise and pride at this. His opinion meant something to her and it made him all the more ashamed at his treatment of her ever since she'd come to the Mountain. "I cannot change it. I've done what I had to in order to survive. My goals have not been lofty or admirable most of the time, but that's changing." It had been a little bit of a game to her at first, him more so than anything else, but the longer she stayed at the Mountain the more invested she became. "You sucked me in, all of you."

"I misjudged you." Guilt mingled with his words, sharp and bitter.

"Perhaps. But you don't feel that way now, do you?" The colors and shapes of her mind were so clear to him here in the Drift, brightly chaotic and pulsing with life. Counter and balance.

"No." He still wasn't quite sure how he felt. Everything was different now.

And she accepted that. "Well. Then let's do this."

Sam's voice came over the comm. "Well, I don't think I need to tell you two that that was a success. Are you ready?"

Their assent was instantaneous. "Let's go, Samantha," Vala said.

The conn-pod dropped and the embrace of Prometheus was like his favorite sweater, warm and comforting and the best extension of himself. He was familiar, from the high-voltage cells laced through his steel fingers to - well that was new.

Vala laughed. "This old dog has some new tricks in him. Shall we test them out, Daniel?"

Daniel looked over her and grinned, feeling for the first time in a long time that things were taking a turn for the better. Atlantis could wait – for now.

* * *

Their first taste of action saw Daniel and Vala in Prometheus alongside Cam and Carolyn in Athena Truth, just off the shore of Vancouver Island.

"How many goddamn legs does this thing have?" Cam bellowed over the comms, using Athena's sword to hack off the arm that had been wrapped around one of Prometheus' legs. The two jaegers pushed determinedly out towards the open sea, trying to get the kaiju away from the densely populated area.

"Designation Kraken, Cameron, haven't you been paying attention?" Vala replied with a wheeze. She and Daniel lurched free and ducked Kraken's other lashing arms to lock Prometheus' hands around its throat. The murky green kaiju jerked as electricity surged into its body even as they strove to crush its windpipe, its other arms flailing madly and closing around them in a deadly embrace.

With one massive surge, she and Daniel pushed it below the surface, down to the ocean floor to keep it pinned. "Keep squeezing, Daniel!" Vala called, sweat popping along her brow at the effort it took to keep their chokehold in place. Metal crunched ominously from Prometheus' chest as Kraken tightened its hold as well. Through the comms, she could hear Carolyn's frantic cry to follow as Athena dove in after them.

_I'm here_, Daniel assured her through their neural link. _We've got this_. Though he was the one with more experience as a jaeger pilot, Vala was the one with natural fighting instincts and a gift for strategy. It only made sense for her to call out the commands and to liaise with Jack back at the Mountain.

Kraken was in its death throes now, but it would still last far longer than they would. It was time to finish it. "Athena, we need you." Both of them were gasping now as Prometheus' chest cavity began to give way. "We have to roll Kraken over and you must get it in the heart, preferably without sticking us as well."

"It'll be our pleasure, Prometheus. Just say the word, we're right here."

"On the count of three then. One, two-"

_Three. _And with one massive surge Daniel and Vala went limp, allowing Kraken to roll Prometheus over. They felt the killing blow, no doubt guided by Carolyn's supreme knowledge of kaiju physiology. The arms that had been wrapped so tightly around Prometheus loosened and they could finally relinquish their own death grip in order to shove the corpse away and stand up.

Daniel grinned, feeling Vala's relief and triumph clearly. _You did well, Vala._

_No, _she countered, sending warmth and affection his way. We _did. All three of us. You, me, and Prometheus._

_Yes, yes we did._

It wasn't until later, with a beer in hand and Vala all but perched on his knee (he didn't mind, surprisingly enough, but that had to be a side-effect of Ghost drifting, nothing more), that he realized that he hadn't thought about Atlantis in days.

* * *

Of course, Drift compatibility couldn't solve everything. The corridors still rang with the sound of their disagreements. It was still common practice for anyone within hearing range to clear out once their voices floated out from his lab. The sheer absurdity of it all caused Sam to snap, and rightly so, when they'd gotten into it during one of Prometheus' refits.

"For two people who can see into each other's minds, you're being unbelievably blind." Her voice dripped with disappointment. "Get out. We're not sending you two out again until you fix this."

Perhaps that was the crux of it, Daniel thought as he stared, unfocused, at a sample Rodney had sent over from Atlantis. The answer to the Vala question, as it were, was right within reach but was he ready to accept it? He learned more about her every time they met in the Drift – things that frightened him, saddened him, fascinated him, _entranced _him. He'd thought that there would be peace and understanding once he saw all there was to see, and he was not all wrong. There _was_ peace and understanding. However, he'd thought (rather erroneously, in hindsight) that she was some mystery he could unravel and then set aside.

But there was no setting aside someone like Vala Mal Doran. And now he was afraid that once he'd let her in, there was no letting go.

His heart wasn't strong enough for this.

"You were hiding something from me in the Drift."

Daniel sighed. Her timing was spectacular, as always. It was as though she could sense the height of his emotions and was helpless to resist their draw. Well, now it was entirely possible due to the strength of their connection. Ghost drifting was very real in their case. From time to time, he received a brief taste of sensation from her – the echo of a laugh from a joke, welding sparks sharp and hot against skin, and the utter peace of a few minutes spent with a mug of rich, scented tea. "Now is not the time, Vala."

"See, you say that, Daniel, but then you say it _all the time_, which leads me to believe that it is always the time and you're simply too afraid or too stubborn to admit it." She hopped onto the table, her hip resting by his hand. "So, what is it?"

"It's nothing," he muttered.

"Don't be stupid, Daniel. Suppression only weakens our link."

This really was the last thing he wished to discuss. "Drop it, Vala."

"I won't." She dropped a hand to his, her face settling into bleak lines when he jerked it away and stood.

"Stop messing with me." He tried to be forceful, dismissive, but there was vulnerability trembling somewhere beneath it that he could not control.

Her eyes flashed, cold and bright like the stars overhead as she leaped nimbly down and, planting her hands on his chest, shoved him backwards. "Who says that I am messing with you, Daniel?" she demanded, furious. "I stopped playing games long ago. You're the one that's performing this stupid little dance and dragging me into it."

"I-"

"_Shut up_," she hissed. "You think I haven't seen inside your head? Felt what you felt?"

"That doesn't mean that you know me." _Liar, liar_ his heart sang.

"No, but I understand you. I asked you to trust me, Daniel. And believe in me. Why is that so hard for you to do?"

There was a plea there, exposed and raw beneath an attack meant to be strong and decisive. The utter sincerity there was what stopped him short, wondering. "I do trust you, Vala, I really do. I believe in you too, otherwise I wouldn't have gone out in Prometheus with you."

Vala scrubbed a hand over her eyes. "But you don't trust or believe in me in the way that truly matters, am I right Daniel?" Her voice was low and defeated, muffled by her hands and directed at the floor.

"Vala, I-" _I can't take the chance. I can't be hurt like that again. I can't love you like that because it would destroy me_.

She squared her shoulders and faced him head-on. "It's no accident that I've been on my own for most of my life, Daniel. It's safer that way. And yet here I am, fighting alongside this ragged crew of yours, neck-deep in a war I _swore _I would never be a part of." She laughed, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth and wrapped her arms around herself, as though preparing for the onslaught. "And my heart? It has always been my own…until the day that it wasn't."

Daniel felt as though his own heart had stopped, twinned with hers and every bit as twisted and splintered.

"Perhaps you should go to Atlantis, Daniel." Her voice was quiet, crushed. "You do not seem to want to be here, not really. And I…I cannot Drift with you, feeling the way that I feel and knowing that I cannot live in the shadow of your ghosts." Her head tipped forward, black hair obscuring her face as every word hit him straight and true. "The worst part is that there, in the Drift, I know how you feel too. It kills me, Daniel."

He moved forward without realizing it, the part of him that was inextricably linked to her unable to bear her suffering. His hands cupped her face, startled to find wetness there.

"Just give me a minute," she whispered, desperate to go and yet unable to tear herself away from his touch.

"Look at me."

Vala did, and the utter lack of walls shattered what remained of his. _Vala, Vala, Vala_, his shattered soul whispered, fitting around the broken pieces of hers until, well – not perfect or whole, for he was still Daniel and she was still Vala, too alike in some ways and too different in others to live as such. But as mirrors and complements they could hold each other up, make each other better, shake each other awake and simply _live_.

"Why would I go when my heart is here?" Daniel murmured, tilting her face up. Their lips met and he breathed her in, all the frustration and hurt and longing intermingling until there was nothing but utter peace and light. Vala met him with equal fervor, kissing him as though they'd done it a thousand times before, their bodies as intimately acquainted as their minds.

"You'd better not be messing with _me_," Vala threatened half-heartedly against his mouth when they finally parted, desperate for air.

He pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth, loving the quirk that appeared there every time she was amused. "Never."

The next time they Drifted, the link sprang up instantly and effortlessly. This time, there was nothing but joy as they met one another with all of their barriers gone; free to everything they ever wanted to say.

_My Daniel_, Vala thought, her love wrapping around him, bright and golden.

_Yours, yours, yours._

* * *

**Please review!**

Okay, so I've been circling the possibility of writing a Daniel/Vala fic for _years_. For those of you who've read my Bleach stories, Daniel and Vala are tied with Shunsui and Nanao as my ultimate OTP. I've just been absolutely terrified to write them. This plot bunny, however, would not hop away.

Anyway, the Stargate version of the PR universe has Atlantis in San Francisco replacing the LA shatterdome. A shatterdome in Cheyenne Mountain would be silly, so the Anchorage shatterdome remains here, but is called "The Mountain" instead because of Denali. Oh, and Teal'c and Ry'ac's jaeger is named Daedalus Intercept. Yes, there's a Greek mythology theme to The Mountain's jaegers. It just happened that way...


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